In the next ICA General Assembly to take place on 20 June 2022 in Seville, Spain, an election to the full ICA Board will be conducted.
Below is information on each candidate by position.
The ICA Board is comprised of the President, four Vice Presidents, four representatives of the global sectoral organisations, one youth representative, the Chair of the Gender Equality Committee, and fifteen other at-large members.
The sectoral organisation, youth representative, and gender equality committee representatives are nominated by their respective constituents and formally elected by the General Assembly. The Vice Presidents are the individuals elected by the ICA Regional Organisations as Regional Presidents and ratified by the ICA General Assembly.
The fifteen at-large Board members and the President are nominated directly by ICA members and elected at this General Assembly. The last elective General Assembly was held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in 2017.
Candidates for President
Ariel Enrique GUARCO
Ariel Guarco is a cooperator since his youth, through his involvement in the Electric Cooperative of Coronel Pringles, in the south of Argentina. In 2008, he became the highest authority of the Federation of Electric and Public Utilities Cooperatives (FEDECOBA). In 2011, he was elected President of Cooperative Confederation of the Argentine Republic (COOPERAR). Now he represents the cooperative movement in the National Institute of Social Economy in Argentina. He was Board member of Cooperatives of the Americas (2014-2018) and elected President of the ICA in November 2017. He is the author of two books: Argentine Cooperativism, A Hopeful Look into the Future (2013) and Cooperative Principles in Action Addressing the Challenges of Today’s Global Agenda (2020).
In these four years I have done my best to fulfil what I committed myself to:
- Put the organization at the service of each of its members,
- Promote the integration of each of the ICA governing bodies,
- Strengthen the innovative and inclusive potential of our business model and
- Position it as a key partner of all international organizations committed to sustainable development.
We have made considerable progress, but my experience, my commitment and the ongoing dialogue with each of you tell me that we still have a lot of work to do.
Let us continue to put our cooperative principles into action!
Melina MORRISON
Melina Morrison has worked for the cooperative movement for more than two decades. She is chief executive of the Australian apex for cooperatives - the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals and was a driving force behind the formation of the Council in 2013 after heading Australia’s Secretariat for the International Year of Cooperatives.
She has led the movement to many historic achievements including the first national research on the size and contribution of Australian cooperatives and Mutual Value Measurement the first framework developed by cooperatives and mutuals to measure their value creation. Melina’s advocacy for cooperative education has resulted in AUD$24.5 million in government funding for the development of cooperatives in agricultural and social care.
Her campaign for access to capital funding for cooperatives resulted in new laws in Australia to permit cooperatives and mutuals to raise capital without demutualisation. Since legislation was passed in 2019 more than AUD$350 million has been raised using ‘Mutual Capital Instruments’. Melina is leading a project to develop the first cooperative sector reporting framework for ‘ESG’. She is Director of Australian Mutuals Foundation which helps develop sustainable financial cooperatives in South-East Asia.
Melina’s work for the ICA includes editing the ICA Digest for five years and writing the message platform for the ‘Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade’. She was engaged to write a strategic communications plan and assist ICA’s media outreach in the International Year of Cooperatives.
Jean-Louis BANCEL
Born in 1955, Chairman of Coop FR, Chairman of the Credit Coopératif foundation.Former high ranking official of the French economy and finance Ministry on national and international issues. Business leader of cooperative and mutual enterprises: secretary general of the syndicate of insurance mutual enterprises, CEO of the French federation of health mutual, and President of Crédit Coopératif.
Numerous responsibilities in the international cooperative movement: ICMIF Chairman, Chairman of the International Cooperative Banking Association, President of Cooperatives Europe, member of the ICA Board and in particular Chairman of the international committee on cooperative principles.
The Alliance should be mobilised by 3 key priorities:
- Strengthening the identity of cooperatives by educating the younger generation.
- Expand the cooperative model in all countries to meet the needs the worldwide economic and social transition entails.
- Widening our enterprises’ scope for originality.
Given the financial situation, we will need everyone's commitment. You can count on me to make all members of the Board of Directors a united team, at your service. The functioning of the global ICA requires urgent review. In order to continue to be the voice of cooperatives, the Alliance must give them a voice. Vote for my candidacy, and we can take back our voice and ensure the Alliance remains at your service.
Note that Mr Bancel is also running for the At-large position.
Presidential debate among ICA Presidency candidates
In the run-up to the ICA General Assembly in Seville, ICA Members worldwide were invited to meet the Presidential Candidates during a webinar on 31 May.Over 120 participants heard from the current ICA president Ariel Enrique Guarco (Cooperar, Argentina), who is standing for re-election; Melina Morrison (BCCM, Australia) and Jean-Louis Bancel (CoopFR, France).
Candidates for Members At-Large
Vice President
Sectoral Organisation Representatives
Youth Representative
Ana Aguirre
She is co-founder and worker owner at TAZEBAEZ S.Coop, an innovation group that focuses its activity in the creation of learning and training ecosystems for companies and education institutions (Travelling U.); visual communication (MakeItVisual); and participates in various companies in emerging sectors. In TAZEBAEZ Ana leads the Cooperative Development line and is a member of the innovation consultancy team. Since 2020 she is COO of Platform Cooperatives NOW! (Mondragon University and New School) and she was one of 12 participants at the Harvard Research Sprint on Data Cooperatives.
Ana is the new Youth Representative and president elect of the ICA Youth Network and represents youth in the Cooperative Identity Advisory Group.
For the program that she is drafting longside the new youth committee, and that were the pillars of her program for the election cycle, she foresees the reinforcement and visibilization of the role and impact that youth makes in the global cooperative movement. Establishing string collaboration with other committees and being able to be part of sectorial groups as the youth network is multisectorial in itself. The action plan will be strong in the identification of cooperative youth (intra- and entre- preneurs), cooperative education and cooperative technology development.
Chair of the Gender Equality Committee
Xiomara Nuñez de Céspedes
Xiomara Nuñez de Céspedes comes from Cooperativa de servicios multiples de profesionales de enfermeria (COOPROENF), a cooperative of nurses in the Dominican Republic and has served as Vice President of the GEC and President of the Regional GEC of ICA Americas. As Chair of the GEC, she plans to raise awareness of the importance of gender equality, promoting best practices from around the world. She takes over from María Eugenia Pérez Zea from ASCOOP in Colombia, who has served as Chair of the Committee since 2011.
